Rachel Barkley
Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes will take a trip to western Florida to face the Tampa Bay Lightning for their final meeting of the regular season.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT.
Tampa Bay is expected to get some reinforcements for the game, as defenseman Erik Cernak is anticipated to return, while forward Nick Paul will be a game-time decision. At this time, it is uncertain which line Cernak will be present on, though Paul will likely center the fourth line if available.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes may debut their trade deadline addition, Nicolas Deslauriers, to bring an extra edge in their game against the Lightning, which is one of the rowdiest teams in the league and leads all other teams in the NHL in penalties.
Friday, Deslauriers practiced on the fourth line, while left wing William Carrier served as an extra forward. After practice, head coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked if he anticipated putting him into an upcoming game.
“I definitely want to. Yeah, I do anticipate that because, you know, we don’t want him sitting here too long without getting into the mix.”
However, he then added that he hadn’t decided when he would play the enforcer.
Between the Pipes
During Friday’s practice, Frederik Andersen had the starter’s crease and will most likely play against the Lightning. While his career record versus Tampa Bay (9-11-1) hasn’t been favorable, his record with the Hurricanes (4-1-0) has been great. This season, his save percentage is .872, with a goals against average of 3.18 across a 10-11-5 record.
Meanwhile, the Lightning will likely get an assist from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has the fourth highest save percentage in the NHL (.913) and the third-best goals against average (2.29).
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Nicolas Deslauriers – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Mike Reilly – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Expected Lightning Lines
Gage Goncalves – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Jake Guentzel
Zemgus Girgensons – Yanni Gourde – Pontus Holmberg
Corey Perry – Nick Paul – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Defense
Victor Hedman – Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh – J.J. Moser
Erik Cernak – Charle-Edouard D’Astous
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy / Jonas Johansson
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.2% (11th)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 79.6% (14th)
Tampa Bay Lightning power play: 22.2% (12th)
Tampa Bay Lightning penalty kill: 81.5% (8th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
The Hurricanes will go to Tampa Bay with their mothers in tow for the biennial mothers’ trip. Additionally, Carolina will not play again until Tuesday when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Saturday will be Rod Brind’Amour’s 600th game as head coach, having served as the Hurricanes’ bench boss since the 2018-19 season – coinciding with their return to the playoffs after a nine-season drought.
Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to miss his fourth game straight since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 6th.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
